Thursday, October 24, 2013

Belgium: Cell Phone Radiation Safety Warnings

Children’s mobile phones are banned. The specific absorption rate (SAR) must be listed on every mobile phone at the point of sale and a warning provided to customers to choose a lower SAR phone, use it moderately, and wear an earpiece.

According to the Federal Public Service, beginning in March, 2014, new
regulations will apply to the sale of mobile phones in Belgium.
Children’s mobile phones will be banned. The specific absorption rate
(SAR) for every mobile phone must be listed at the point of sale and the
following warning must be provided to customers:

“Think about
your health – use your mobile phone moderately, make your calls wearing
an earpiece and choose a set with a lower SAR value.”

The Belgian
government's additional recommendations include use of other hands-free
methods to keep the phone away from the body such as text
messaging, and not making calls when the signal is weak, such as in an
elevator or in a moving vehicle.

All cell phones will be labeled
with the letter A, B, C, D, or E, corresponding to the phone's specific
absorption rating, or SAR, which is a measure of the maximum amount of
energy deposited in an adult user's brain during a short phone call.

"A"
indicates a SAR less than 0.4 watts/kilogram (w/kg),

"B" from 0.4 to
less than 0.8 w/kg,

"C" from 0.8 to less than 1.2 w/kg,

"D" from 1.2 to
less than 1.6 w/kg, and

"E" more than 1.6 w/kg.

Although phones
sold in the U.S. cannot currently exceed 1.6 w/kg and are measured in a
different manner than in Europe, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) is currently considering weakening the U.S. standard and adopting the European or international standard
which was developed by a private organization called ICNIRP. The
multinational Telecom Industry has lobbied to weaken our protections in
the interest of global "harmonization." This policy change is strongly opposed by
numerous consumer groups, environmental groups, medical professionals
and health scientists in the U.S. who have advocated for stronger regulations, not weaker ones, to protect public health.

In 2010, the city
of San Francisco adopted a cell phone "right to know" law that is similar to
the Belgian Government's new regulations, but after a lengthy legal
battle in the Federal courts with the Telecom Industry, the city
repealed the law earlier this year.The new regulations by the Belgian government are in response to the International Agency for Research on
Cancer's (IARC) declaration that radio frequency radiation is "possiibly
carcinogenic" based upon research that finds increased risk of brain
cancer due to intensive use of a mobile phone.

Since the IARC declared that
cell phone radiation is "possibly carcinogenic" in May, 2011, more
evidence of brain cancer risk has been published in the peer-reviewed,
scientific literature. The latest study by Lennart Hardell and
colleagues in Sweden finds a three-fold increased risk of brain cancer
after 25 years of cell phone and cordless phone use.

The American public
needs to learn about the risks of using wireless devices and how to use
them safely; otherwise, we may face a major public health crisis in the
ensuing decades with the proliferation of these devices in our society.The Belgian governnment's press release and supporting materials include sections covering frequently
asked questions, general information about cell phone and other types of
electromagnetic radiation, child leukemia, and electromagnetic
hypersensitivity. Although some of the information is
misleading in my opinion, it is worth examining.